Refrigerator car



Sept. 29, 1936. G. E. HULSE ET AL REFR IGERATOR CAR Filed June 21, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR$ "$10 6 W 44402,

Ackn- 2744.9

ATTORNEYS Sept. 29, 1936. G. E. HULSE ET AL 2,055,537

REFRIGERATOR CAR Filed June 21, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 7 INVENTO Sept. 29, 1936. G E HULSE ET AL 2,055,537

REFRIGERATOR CAR Filed June 21, 1950 4 Sheets-Shet 3 'ITORNEYS Sept. 29, 1936. G. E. HULSE ET AL REFRIGERATOR CAR 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 21, 1950 Patented Sept. 29, 1936 V UNITED sTATss EPA-TENT I (OFFICE REFRIGERATOR can Application June 21, 1930, Serial No. 462,794

15 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigerator cars and the like.

One of the objects thereof is to providea practical refrigerator car body of simple and strong construction. Another object is to provide a car body of the above nature, the action of which will be highly eificient. Another object is to provide a structure of the above nature in which heat leakage is reduced to a minimum. Other objects are to provide in structures of the above nature an arrangement of parts well-suited to mechanical refrigeration; a construction in which deterioration of heat-resistance qualities is reduced to a minimum; and such a disposition of parts as will permit thecontents to be maintained in efficient and sanitary condition.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts, which will be exemplified in the structure hereinafter described, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the sub-joined claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which is shown one of the various possible embodiments of the invention:-

Fig. l is a side elevation partly in section of a refrigerator car embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view partly broken away to show the constructionof the The car body is divided into two compartments,

A and B, separated by apartition C. Compart ment A is the refrigerating compartment and compartment B contains a suitable apparatus (not shown), either of the absorption or compression type, for cooling compartment A. Extending from the apparatus in compartment B into compartment A are cooling pipes D, which are preferably located adjacent the roof in compartment- A.

The refrigerating compartment A is provided at its sides, ends and top with an outer wall of metal, an interior woodenrwall, and an intermediate wall of waterproof paper and insulation material. The outer wall of metal also encloses the sides, top and end of compartment B. The outer wall is preferably constructed of steel painted with aluminum paint to minimize heat absorption and to produce a strong, rigid, waterproof body.

Referring to Fig. 2, the metal side walls consist of sheathing 2, the lower edgesof which rest upon and are riveted to a side sill 3, and the upper edges of which are riveted to the inner side of a plate 3. lhe sheathing 2 is reenforced by interior posts 5, preferably of steel and riveted to the sheathing 2, the side sill 3 and the plate 4. The metal end and partition walls of the car may be similarly constructed withadditional sheathing to provide for the raised roof. It may here be noted that the term steel" is used throughout in a broad sense to cover any suitable metal or alloy thereof. The metal wall of the roof consists of roof sheathing 6, riveted at either side of the car to an upper sill l, which in turn is M riveted to the plate 4. Roof sheathing 6 may be supported by interior carlines 8 riveted thereto.

The interior wooden side walls consist of sheathing 53, secured to wooden posts to. Posts it] are tenoned into a side sill 2! supported as hereinafter described and are secured at their upper ends to a wooden plate !2. Plate i2 is located outside posts in and inside steel posts 5, and is secured to steel posts 5. Sheathing 9 is preferably provided with tongue and groove connections to prevent moisture from seeping through the wall. The wooden end walls of refrigerating compartment A may be similarly constructed.

The interior wooden top wall of compartment A consists of sheathing 93 supported by and secured to wooden cross pieces l4 carried by plates 'll secured to posts in at either side of the car. Sheathing I3 is preferably provided with tongue and groove connections. 45

The insulation between the exterior metal walls and the interior wooden walls preferably consists of two strips l5 and 16 of insulating material. Sheets of waterproof paper may be inserted-above, below or between the insulating 5o strips l5 and I6. Additional insulating strips 'may be provided if needed.

The construction of the floor of the refrigerating compartment is best shown in Fig. 2. ,It consists of a bottom layer of transverse flooring 5 I! which rests upon side sills 3 and a central sill [8 (see Fig. 3). Secured to the flooring ll, pref- -erably at the center and at either side of the car,is alongitudinal plank l9. At intervals along planks I9, blocks 39 are provided to support side and center sills 2|, the blocks 39 for the side sills being preferably located below the posts l0. Immediately above the flooring 11a strip of insulating material 20 is laid, contacting with the flooring l1 and extending over the planks l9 between blocks 39. Between side and center sills 2| and contacting with insulation strip 329 a of cork board or the like is preferably inserted.

It will be noted that the heavy transverse.

planking 24 is supported at its ends by the side sills 2| which sills are in tin'n supported by the blocks 39. This arrangement further reduces heat leakage.

Plankings 23, 24 and 25 are preferably provided with tongue and groove connections to resist seepage of moisture therethrough and protect the insulation strips 20 and 22, while flooring I1 is preferably provided with ship-lap connections or the like to permit any moisture which may reach said flooring from the interior of the car to readily pass out of the car, these tongue .and groove connections and ship-lap connections being better shown in Figure 6.

Compartment B is preferably not insulated. as it is desirable that any heat generated by the refrigerating apparatus be allowed to escape readily from thecar. V

It will be noted that moisture tends to progress toward a cooler area; for example, from outside a refrigerator car toward the cooler refrigerating chamber. Applicant's tight outer wall of steel or the like prevents moisture from entering the refrigerating compartment from without the car. As the tendency of any moisture in the car is to remain in the car, it will have little tendency to seep through the wooden walls to the insulating strips. Thus, in applicants structure the insulating qualities of the insulating material are preserved indefinitely.

As best shown in Fig. 4, provision is made for ventilating the refrigerating compartment when the car is not refrigerating. As there shown, the upper right hand end of the-refrigerating compartment is provided with a box 29 extendin across the car and having openings at either side. Each opening is provided with a door 38 which is closed during refrigeration and opened for ventilation. A screen 3| is preferably provided over each opening to keep out cinders and dirt. Within the box29 and near the top thereof, a screened opening 32 leading into the refrigerating chamber is provided, and at the bottom of the box a plurality of screened openings 33 leading into the refrigerating chamber are provided. when the doors 30 are opened, aircurrents induced by exhaust ventilators 34 at the other end of the car pass into box 29 and enter the refrigerating compartment through screened openings 32 and 33.. Box 29. is preferably provided with bafile surfaces 38. The air thus entering the refrigerating chamber passes through the chamber and out the other end of the car through exhaust ventilators 34 located on the roof over swinging doors 35 Ventilators 34 are constructed and arranged to direct the currents of air through screened openings 36 and 31 formed in the ventilators, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 4.

By reason of certain other features ofour invention, we are enabled further to achieve high efiiciency of heat insulation, and we are enabled very materially to diminish the transmission of heat, by conduction, from the exterior of the car to the interior thereof. For example, the sheathing 9, preferably of wood, is secured to the vertical posts l0, also of wood, the latter being supported'by the horizontal stringers l2 (see Fig. 2). The stringers I 2, along which the vertical posts are spaced, are secured, as by the metal brackets 50, to the steel channel iron columns or posts to which the exterior steel sheathing 2 is secured, but the relative spacing between the inside wooden post l0 and the-columns 5, as is better shown in Figure 2, is such that a portion of substantial length of the stringers l2 intervenes any one wooden post I0 and an adjacent steel post 5.

With such an arrangement as this, the flow of heat, by conduction of the materials employed, from the one side of the wall to the other side of the wall, as for example from the outside sheathing 2 to the inside sheathing 9, must proceed by way of a somewhat circuitous path, a path materially longer than the over-all thickness of the composite wall of the car. Illustratively, heat-fiowfrom the steel sheathing 2 wooden post I and from the latter to the wooden sheathing 9. The stringer I2 is of relatively small cross-section and conduction of heat therealong and by way .of the above-described circuitous path is very slow.

As appears plainly in Figures 1 and 3, and particularly in Figure 5, we provide vertically extending battons 5| secured to the inside wooden sheathing 9 by suitable metal cleats 52 and. suitably spaced about the side and end walls of the interior of the car body. These batto-ns 5| keep the lading within the car spaced from the sheathing 9 while a load-supporting floor 53 (see Figs. Land 3), made up of suitable boards or planks preferably spaced, as shown in Figure 8, and supported by the spaced crossstruts 54 (Fig. 1;) keep the lading spaced upwardly from the flooring 25, this construction insuring theprovision of adequate passages for the effective circulation of air, cooled by the coils D, into thermal contact with the material to be cooled.

It will be seen that there is provided a construction of an essentially practical nature in the invention are to said framework, insulating material disposed between said casing and said compartment, a

so that the refrigerating compartment need not be opened in transit.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention, and as many changes might be made in the embodiment, above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We claim:

1. In a refrigerator car, a floor construction comprising a bottom layer of transverse flooring supported by the car side and center sills, longitudinal side and center strips secured on said flooring, blocks located at intervals on said strips, wooden side and center sills disposed on said blocks, and heavy transverse planking secured to said wooden side and center sills.

2. In a refrigerator car, a floor construction comprising a bottom layer of transverse flooring supported by the car side and center sills, longitudinal side and center strips secured on said flooring, blocks located at intervals on said strips, wooden side and center sills disposed on said blocks, heavy transverse planking secured to said wooden side and center sills, and insulating strips interposed between said planking and said flooring.

3. In a refrigerator car, a floor construction comprising a bottom layer of wooden flooring,

' an upper layer of heavy wooden planks, and

an intermediate layer of insulating material; the upper layer of planks having tongue and groove connections and the lower layer of flooring having ship-lap connections, and the upper layer of planks being supported by longitudinal sills resting on spaced blocks interposed between said sills and the lower layer of flooring.

4. In a refrigerator car construction, in combination, a steel base frame, a steel top frame, a plurality of substantially vertical steel posts connected at their opposite ends to said-frames, a wooden frame supported by said base frame, a plurality of wooden uprights secured; to said last-mentioned frame and spaced fromsaid posts, a wooden frame supported by said upuprights substantally adjacent said top frame,

means forming a refrigerating compartment supported by said wooden frames and said uprights and spaced from said posts and said first two mentioned frames, and means forming a steel sheathing secured to said first two men-1 tioned frames and said posts and enclosing three 1 sides of said compartment.

5. In a refrigerator car construction, in com-.

frigerating compartment including a pair of.

horizontal metal frames spaced from each other by substantially vertical metal posts, means forming said compartment within said framework and including a plurality of wooden uprights spaced from said posts, a metal casing covering the sides and top of said compartment and spaced therefrom, said casing being secured floor supported by said framework and spaced from said compartment, and insulating means disposed between said floor and said compartment. i

7. In a refrigerator car construction, in combination, means forming a framework for a re-,

between said casing and said compartment, the

base of said compartment comprising planks having tongue and groove connections, a floor supported by said framework comprising planks having ship-lap connections, and insulating means disposed between said base and said floor.

8. In a. refrigerator car construction, in combination, means forming a framework for a refrigerating compartment including a pair of horizontal metal frames spaced from each other by substantially vertical metal posts, means forming from said posts, a metal casing covering the sides and top of said compartment and spaced therefrom, said casing being secured to said framework, and a layer of insulating material disposed between said framework and said compartment, said material substantially covering said casing and said posts.

9. In a refrigerator c'ar construction, in combination, a metal base frame, a metal top frame, a plurality of vertical metal posts supported by said base frame and connected to said top frame, a wooden base frame supported by said metal base frame, a pluralityof wooden uprights supported by said wooden base frame and spaced from said posts, a wooden top frame supported between said posts and said uprights, means forming a compartment supported by said wooden frames and said uprights, and means forming an enclosure supported by said metal frames and said posts and spaced from said compartment.

10. In a refrigerator car construction, in combination, a metal base frame, a metal top frame, a plurality of vertical metal posts supported by said base frame and connected to said top frame, a wooden base frame supported by said metal base frame, a plurality of wooden uprights supported by said wooden base frame and spaced from said posts, a wooden top frame supported between said posts and said uprights, a plurality of lateral beams bridging the longitudinal sides of said top wooden frame, a plurality of boards secured to said uprights and forming the walls of a refrigerating compartment, a plurality of boards supported by said. beams and said top wooden frame formingtheroof of said compartment, means forming a floor for said compartment supported upon said wooden base frame, and a metal-casing surrounding said, compartment and'secured to said metal posts and said metal frames: r

11. In a refrigerator car'construction, in combination, means forming a framework for a refrigerating compartment including a pair of horizontal metal frames spaced from each. other by 73 j substantially vertical metal posts, means forming a floor supported by one of said metal frames, a plurality of spaced longitudinal beams supported by said floor, a wooden framework supported by said beams, a secondary floor supported upon said wooden framework, a series of upright wooden posts supported by said wooden framework and spaced from said metal posts,

means forming a chamber supported upon said secondary floor and secured to said wooden posts, and a metal casing surrounding said chamber and secured to said framework.

12. In a refrigerator car construction, in combination, means forming a framework for a refrigerating compartment; including a pair of horizontal metal frames spaced from each other by substantially vertical metal posts, a floor comprising planks having ship-lap connections supported upon one of said horizontal frames, a series of longitudinal strips supported upon said fioor, a series of spaced lateral strips supported upon said first-mentioned strips, a horizontal wooden frame supported upon said last-mentioned strips, a secondary floor supported upon said wooden frame, a plurality of wooden uprights secured to said wooden frame, heat insulating material disposed between said firstmentioned floor and said secondary floor, a. hori zontal wooden frame disposed between said up rights and said posts and secured thereto, means forming a compartment secured to and supported by said last-mentioned wooden frame, said uprights and said secondary floor, a metal casing enclosing the sides and top of said framework and spaced from said wooden frames by said posts, and heat insulating material disposed between said casing and said compartment, the floor of said compartment comprising a layer of planks having tongue and groove connections.

13. In a refrigerator car construction, in combination, means forming a framework for a rerigeratirig compartment including a pair of horizontal metal frames spaced from each other by substantially vertical metal posts, means forming said compartment within said framework and including a plurality of wooden uprights spaced from said posts, a metal casing covering the sides and top of said compartment and spaced therefrom, and means disposed between said posts for spacing said casing from said framework.

14. In a refrigerator car construction, in comframework and covering the sides and top of said compartment and spaced therefrom, and stringer members connecting said posts and said uprights, the portion of one of said stringer members between an adjacent post and upright being of greater length than the distance between said metal casing and said refrigerating compartment. c

15. In a refrigerator car construction, in combination, means forming aframework for a refrigerating compartment including a pair of horizontal metal frames spaced from each other by substantially vertical metal posts, a floor supported upon one of said horizontal frames, a plurality of spaced longitudinal beams supported by said floo'r, a plurality of spaced cleats disposed along said beams, a wooden frame mounted upon said cleats, a plurality of boards forming a secondary floor supported upon said wooden frame, insulating material disposed between said secondary floor and said first-mentioned floor, a series of wooden uprights secured to said wooden frame and spaced from said posts, a compartment supported upon said secondary floor and secured to said posts, and a casing enciosing three dimensions of said compartment and secured to said framework.

GEORGE E. HULSE.

FRANK M. BRINCKERHOFF. 

